Summary

The final came down to the 1991 World Champion, [Kevin Jackson] of the United States, and the 1989 World Champion, [Elmadi Zhabrailov], a Kazakh wrestling for the Unified Team. The match ended in a scoreless tie and went into overtime. At 0:46 of the overtime Zhabrailov attacked and Jackson countered, and the two wrestlers moved out of bounds and the action was re-started. The Unified coaches then protested that Zhabrailov had controlled Jackson and deserved a point, which would have ended the match, but Bulgarian referee Todor Grudev ruled that no point had been scored and this would later be upheld by FILA after a Unified Team protest. One minute later Jackson got Zhabrailov in a single-leg takedown, which earned him a point, the match, and the gold medal.

Zhabrailov was not happy. He sobbed after the loss and had to be forced to step up to the podium. Although he accepted his silver medal he did not put it around his neck. The American anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” was played for Jackson, but nobody heard it because the Russian fans booed and whistled and drowned out the music.

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